Legend-ary Travel - Pure Michigan
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| Cars and other billboards were edited from this photo. - September 19th, 2025 |
My annual birthday trip for August was cancelled due to some time sensitive family needs. We were able to reschedule the trip to Michigan to the middle of September. We had to adjust our expectations a bit and opted to bring the bikes instead of the kayaks. Also the weather would be cooler, but I am not certain that was such a bad thing. Our length of stay also needed to be adjusted slightly by reducing the trip by a day due to our September calendar. This was not a big sacrifice.
I surprised myself when we crossed the Welcome to Michigan sign when I realized that this was the first time I had been to Michigan. This is so funny since it is only a few hours from our home in Ohio. Our drive pulling our 25 and a half foot travel trailer, though littered with construction, was uneventful. Well it wasn’t all uneventful. We stopped at a rest area near the Ohio line and I had my first pumpkin spice. Please remember that I am one in a handful of people in the world who doesn’t like coffee so my dabbling in the world of pumpkin spice was an Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai. I even recorded my first sip for the record. I have heard all about pumpkin spice as has anyone who has lived near a coffeeshop or a grocery store for the past 20 years. I do not like pumpkin pie, so I was certain it would be a no go. I took a sip and then another. I was surprised that I did not hate it. Now I could say that I have tried it. I took another sip. I actually really liked it. It could not taste a huge difference between the ice pumpkin chai and a regular iced chai. So count me into the cult of liking pumpkin spice. I admit I was quite surprised and equally disappointed that the taste lived up to the hype.
It took us 8 hours to drive (with stops) to our location. Which included a gas fill up, dog park explore time and lunch in the trailer at a Loves Travel Center. The last 15 miles were the most challenging. Part of the reason for the challenge was that we were using a new RV GPS system to which I had entered Deer Path Lane instead of Deer Path (yep there is a 1 or 2 mile difference in the addresses). The other part of the challenge was due to our being ready to be there and off the road. Kenobi had started to whine and it was driving me crazy. It is worse than finger nails to a chalkboard to my ears. When we found our location, we surveyed the location and Bruce backed the trailer down the hill and into our perpendicular site like a professional. The site included a concrete pad, water, electric and sewer hook-up and a fire pit complete with a pile of wood. Within 30 minutes, we were completely set up and sitting by the river relaxing.
Relaxing was what was needed and what this trip was all about. I woke up the first morning and dropped a fishing line in the river. The water level was a low due to the lack of rain. The water was crystal clear and I could see the bottom the entire 40 foot span of the river. We had forgotten to grab some live bait and we were in the middle of nowhere. I managed to catch (and relase) 2 small sized large mouth bass. We would not be eatting fresh caught fish for dinner on this trip. It was still fun and relaxing to fish along the river, but I will admit that Bruce and I both caught the low hanging branches of the trees more than a few times.
After fishing for a while the weather warmed and we drove 30 minutes to Big Rapids and road our bikes 13 1/2 miles on the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail to the Eifel Tower in Paris. Well Paris Michigan. It was a bit bumpy ride, but it was beautiful to ride among the changing colors of the leaves. Iloved the sound that the dry leaves made under our bike tires. The ride went well for me. I have finally figured out how to get on and off with my pegleg that has limited response and foot lift from my Multiple Sclerosis. It is awkward because I need to mount and dismount the bike from the right side and the kick stand is on the left. I contacted the makersof my bike explaining my situation and asked it there was a possibilty of putting the kick stand on the left side. They responded quickly, but this isn’t a possibiity due to the ebike motor. So I look a bit awkward as I dismount on the right hand side, hold my bike with one hand as I reach over and put my kickstand down with my other hand. Again it looks really odd, but it works for me. I am gaining confidence on my bike more everytime I ride it. I love it. I was a bit overconfident when we reached the parking lot. Most people slow down, turn their handle bars and glide into the lot from the trail. Alas, I am not that good. I don’t know if it is too much for my brain to descipher or what. But I had the confidence that I could do it, but I didn’t slow down enough. I didn’t turn my handles as aggressively as I needed to and my feet completely forgot what they were suppose to do. Mid turn, my feet went to the ground while I still had the momenteum of the turn and I had not fully engaged the brakes. I began to wobble, but I did not fall, but my right ankle and the right petal kissed in an agressive way. Woozer that really hurt. I got off my bike awkwardly and walked it accross the parking lot to the truck. I knew I was bleeding and wanted to get a band-aid on the cut before we headed to lunch. I pulled down my sock and there was no bloode just a little”scrape. I am such a baby!
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| The Eifel Tower in Paris, Michigan |
We loaded the bikes and enjoyed a fabulous lunch along the river at Gypsy Nickel. I was a bit worried about the food since there are only a few restaurants in Big Rapids. Again I was pleasantly surprised. The food and drinks were delicious and the sweet potatoe fries melted in my mouth. I was even more surprised by the bill $40 for 2 lunch entrees, 2 long island iced teas and a dessert. We returned to the site and enjoyed a casual evening watching the river, and enjoying a campfire. Rain was coming, but we managed to stay dry until bedtime. When I got in the trailer and took off my sock I realized there was a reason my sock felt so tight. My ankle may not have been bleeding from the bike ride, but it did take a hit and was very swollen. As uncomfortable as it was it was not painful and I could walk with no issue. Oof, it it is likely to turn a pretty rainbow color on me in a day or so.
As expected the next day was a rain out, which wasn’t all bad. I was able to take a nap which I never do. I watched some tv, listen to an audio book and did my camping cross stitch that I have in the trailer for just such an occasion. We had discussed going to a winery, but I enjoyed the day of doing nothing and Bruce enjoyed watching 3 or 4 football games.
On our last full day in Michigan the weather began to clear . Bruce found a great hike for us in the Bundy Hill Preserve. The 2.5 mile hike began with informative plaques explaining the history of the area and lumber industry. The surroundings of the preserve changed at different elevations. We would be surrounded by different species of trees and different plants. Kenobi was great and led the way. For the last half of our hike we were able to take Kenobi off the leash and he stayed right on the trail with us. On our way back to the trailer, we stopped into Doozie’s for some ice cream. I believe the owner and name sake waited on us. He was an older gentleman of 75 or 80 years old. So sweet, the man and the ice cream. Our evening consisted of relaxing with either a pole in the water or sitting by the campfire watching the wildlife. We had most things packed so that we could get an early start back to Ohio in the morning.
Our early start did not go according to plan. We both woke early, but decided to let each other sleep a little longer. A little longer was about 90 minutes because we both fell back to sleep. Oh well, that's vacation. The change in our leaving hour put us directly in the path of a severe thunderstorm. Bruce did great driving with the bad visibility and slow speeds on the highway, while I was hoping for a place to pull over and wait it out. After about 45 minutes we finally drove out of the storm to blue skies. I wish I could say that our trip home was as uneventful as our travel to Michigan. The storm wasn’t the only hurdle we faced. After entering the Ohio turnpike, my husband noticed that he could see his bike in the back camera. Typically, we can only see the edge of a handle bar. The road was under construction so we could not pull over safely with the limited lanes available. We were at God’s mercy as we watched to bike bounce with every bump we hit. The cars behind us also had to be fearful that the bike was going to come through their windshield as they all passed us and gave the trailer a wide birth. Five miles later we were finally able to pull over and assess the damage. The bike was perpendicular to the road, instead of being perpendicular to the back of the trailer. The only thing holding it on were the tire straps. The post that the bike attaches to had broken off the bike rack frame. We were so thankful that no one was hurt and that no damage was done to the trailer or the bike. I spent the next portion of the drive reaching out to the company where we purchased the rack. Killing them with kindness and explaining the reality of the situation. By the next morning they responded and are replacing the portion of the rack that broke and assured us that it has been reinforced for durability. The remainder of our trip home was thankfully uneventful.
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